Most Successful Child Actors Still Working in Show Business

10.05.12 by BJSprecher

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Yesterdays child actors, today's superstars!

We're all too familiar with the supposed "curse" of being a child actor. A darling child with a precocious knack for acting grows up with too much fame and fortune and too little (or the wrong kind of) parental supervision and they grow up to become a tabloid headline and late night talk show punchline. Or, worse yet, they don't make it to adulthood at all. Lindsay, Amanda, Corey, Macaulay, Demi, Miley...the list goes on and on. Just as we can't look away as we slowly pass by a terrible accident on the freeway, we often find ourselves compelled to stare at the wreckage so many child stars make of their adulthood.

Though the stories of tragic former child stars may make for juicier reading while standing in line at the check-out stand, the great majority of child actors grow up to become well-adjusted adults. Most leave acting behind and move on to "normal" careers as teachers, bankers or software engineers, but many remain in show business, finding even greater success as an adult. Hit the link below to find out the Most Successful Child Actors Still Working in Show Business today.

THEN: At 13, starred in Empire of the Sun, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the novel by J.G. Ballard about a young boy from a wealthy British family living in China in 1941 who winds up in a prisoner of war camp after the Japanese invade.

NOW: Winner of numerous accolades including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Dicky Eklund in the biopic The Fighter. Star of Christopher Nolan's acclaimed Batman trilogy, which has earned over $2.4 billion worldwide.